1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a truck trailer having a special bed constructed for receiving containers in which aquatic vessels and other items are secured for transport over land.
2. Background of the Invention
The primary structure by which aquatic vessels or other taller articles have been transported over land is by securing the boat to the bed of a flat bed truck trailer. To prevent the boat from tipping over, a scaffolding has usually been constructed around the keel of the boat to lend support. Straps have been used to secure the boat to the scaffolding. In addition, the boat and the scaffolding have been secured to the conventional flat bed of the trailer by cables. The cables are carefully positioned opposite of each other to help keep the boat balanced.
Unfortunately, the transportation of boats over land has been plagued by several problems. One of the problems has been the height of the load after the vessel has been secured to the bed of the truck. In most cases, the bed of the truck, which sits over the tires, is approximately five feet in height above the road. When the vessel is secured to the bed, the center of gravity of the vessel is substantially raised. The raising of the center of gravity can be dangerous because it adds to the instability of the load when the truck makes turns. Moreover, during an emergency traffic maneuver, the additional instability caused by the height of the load could prove to have tragic consequences.
The added height of the boat sitting on the bed of the conventional truck can also present practical problems in transporting the vessel. For example, when the truck must pass under some structure such as a freeway overpass, the additional height in some cases will be enough to force the truck to take an alternate route.
The present invention mitigates the problems presented by the height of the conventional flat bed truck by reducing the height of the bed from five feet to approximately eight to fourteen inches above the road. The difference of over four feet greatly reduces the center of gravity of the load thereby making it safer and also reduces the height of the load to allow the truck to pass under some structures that it otherwise would be forced to circumvent.
Another limitation of the conventional method of transporting vessels relates to the fact that the procedure for securing the vessel to the flat bed truck is time consuming and is resource inefficient. The traditional approach requires that a flat bed trailer be available before the vessel can be secured for the trip. The present invention does not require the presence of a flat bed trailer because the vessel is secured to a transport platform; not the trailer. This new approach saves time because the vessel is secured to the transport platform before the truck trailer arrives. When the trailer does arrive, the transport container is lowered by crane on to the trailer, at which point the vessel is ready to leave for its destination. This procedure is also more resource efficient because less expensive transport platforms await the arrival of truck and trailer instead of having trailers sitting idle with vessels on them awaiting the arrival of a truck.